Styx: The Detour
by NaomiSakagura
Summary: Styx was just trying to get to the World Tree. The only problem? The person controlling him wasn't doing a good job at getting him there. He decides to take matters into his own hands. Disclaimer: All content, minus the original female character, belong to Cyanide and their affiliates.
1. Chapter 1

**Styx: The Detour**

 **Chapter 1:**

Styx was one pissed off goblin. The human that was controlling him had let him die **AGAIN**. He knew that because he was a video game character that he could never truly die, but it still got annoying. This time he'd had enough. Deciding to use what magic he could, he was going to attempt to pass the barrier that separated the two worlds apart. The goblin knew that if he were to cross into the human world, he wouldn't be able to make it back. So, he had no choice but to bring the human into his. Honestly, Styx could have given a rat's ass if the human got stuck in his. He laughed to himself. Since digesting Amber for the first time, Styx found himself able to preform certain types of magic with the help of sand. He usually kept a pile on him, but his store seemed a little low to create a portal. The re-spawn point had the green skin on a ledge that lead to his hideout. Crouching, he scoured the area for one of the random sacks of sand the humans had lying about. Once spotted, he hopped off the ledge and grabbed hold of a nearby iron rod protruding from the wall. There was a set of them that formed a line. He jumped from one to the next. At the last one, he held off until the guard fucked off, then hopped onto the railing lining the walkway. Looking both ways and seeing no one watching, he grabbed the sand strewn across the carpet and filled his pockets with it. Styx was unsure as to how much he would need. Now, the goblin had to decide the best place to bring the human through. He looked behind him at the ledge he had previously been chilling on and studied it. It looked large enough for two beings. He made his way back, and just in time too, the guards had returned to stick their noses in shit they didn't belong.

Styx planned to bring the human across the barrier in order to teach them a lesson in person. He figured they must be deaf because cussing the fucker out while he fell to his death didn't work. He huffed at that and lifted his hands, sand seeping between his fingers. His eyes glowed bright amber in the darkness, the magic flowing through his veins making them hauntingly beautiful. He threw the piles up and in mid air, the sand came to a halt and started to take shape. Eventually, a circle was formed, a red magic filling the inside. Styx smirked.

A redheaded human girl was fuming slightly. After the character in her game fell to his death, the television screen went black instead of reloading to her last save point like normal. At first, she wasn't concerned because she figured maybe the game had glitched. However, after trying everything from fooling with the controller, to get back to the main screen, to restarting the console, the game refused to cooperate. "What the fuck?!" The girl was starting to get agitated. She had played the game through a few times and even owned the sequel to it. The game fascinated her with its beautiful graphics and interesting story line. Plus, she couldn't deny that the main character was pretty hot and charismatic. The redhead sighed longingly at the thought of the goblin's breathtaking eyes and attractive voice. His body wasn't so bad either.

Giggling to herself, she could almost forget that her game was being a little bitch. Styx had a way of distracting her in ways other interests of hers just couldn't. The sound of the controller slipping out of her hand and hitting the ground jerked her out of the reverie she was in. Saddened at remembering the game wasn't working, the redhead decided to make some coffee and take a break. Continuing to fool with it now would just annoy her more and wouldn't get her anywhere. She had been crouching by the game system this whole time so her muscles were protesting. She stood up, stretching with some groaning involved, and headed for the door. With her back turned, she didn't notice the screen was no longer black.

The T.V. started to shake from the power of the magic coming through the barrier. Somehow, the man made machine didn't crack from the pressure. As the magic grew stronger, a red light started to emit from the center, creating a circle. It grew bigger and brighter, finally catching the redhead's attention. "Huh?" She turned towards the T.V and what she saw made her mouth fall open. It took the girl a minute to regain her ability to speak. She'd never seen the game do that before. "What…what's happening?" She slowly walked towards the now portal and studied it intently. She wasn't sure if this was some part of the game she had never seen before or the console itself acting up. She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. Out of curiosity, she placed her hand on the screen. She wasn't sure why, seeing as logic would reason that all that would happen would be a few more fingerprints being added to the collection on the surface, but the niggling feeling in her head was stronger than that logic. She thought she heard a voice telling her to come through the portal, which didn't make sense. Even more curious was the fact that the faint voice almost sounded like Styx. She shook her head, that was nonsense. There was no way Styx could actually talk to her and it was even more impossible that this red circle was a portal. The girl was gravely mistaken, though, when she felt a strong pull, and before her logical mind could grasp what was happening, she was yanked through.

The trip was fast, the portal closing behind the redhead as she sailed through it. She crashed through the other side and came to an abrupt halt, the door to the other side crumbling upon her arrival. Up to this point, the girl's eyes had been closed. Getting sucked through had not been expected and even worse than her body protesting, was her stomach deciding she may need to revisit lunch. Hazel eyes opened slowly and confusion filled them. She had no idea where she was at. She had never been in this place before, or so she thought. The wood and stone threw her off, as well as the stench violating her nostrils. She gagged because **DAMN** that smell was horrid. Looking ahead of her, she saw broken metal bars and an opening to what looked to be a sewer. The niggling was back and she started to get a very strong feeling that this should all be familiar to her.

Her nose being burnt to all hell from the assault of what had to be rotting corpses, distracted her from the fact that she was being held up by something other than her own two feet. Once she became somewhat desensitized, awareness of this fact kicked in. This caused the girl to look down at the source of pressure she felt along her body. Thick, muscled arms, covered in scars and tainted green, were wrapped around her waist. If this didn't confuse her, the most noticeable feature did. An amber colored tattoo glowing bright in the low light, caught her eyes. It started from just below the elbow and travelled all the way up the right side of the appendage. Her breath hitched, she knew that mark anywhere. It couldn't be. Her heart began to pound, uncaring as to whether it could be heard or not. What felt like wind brushed gently across her ear and she shivered. The redhead dared to cock her head back and was met with amber colored eyes that radiated annoyance. She was stuck there for a moment, having fantasized about them many a night. She had thought they were beautiful before, but without the barrier of the t.v. screen separating them, she now saw how truly breathtaking they were. She managed to tear her own eyes away from his and took in his other features, such as the pointy nose, his pearly white fangs, and the signature green skin. The human couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Styx…", she whispered softly in realization. She had to be dreaming. There was no way in hell that the redhead was here in the goblin's arms right now. Then it hit her, she was in his arms. She had to stop herself from swooning. If this was a dream, she didn't ever want to wake up. She became hyper aware of his closeness, his body nearly flush to hers. His face was inches from hers. She could feel his breath caressing her face. The redhead's pale skin warmed as the blood rushed to her face and it tainted red. She was so screwed.

Styx had not been expecting the human to come flying through the portal. The again, he wasn't even sure it would work. On top of the headaches and scattered memories, he was still discovering what all he was capable of thanks to the amber. He caught the airborne body more out of instinct than really caring if the person got hurt or not. He had to take a couple steps back, the force of the impact almost causing him to lose his footing. The narrow waist was his first clue that the player he had summoned was not a male as he originally expected. His second clue was the distinct difference in chest shape. Soft mounds were resting atop his arm. The sound of her voice gagging, which almost made him bust out laughing, confirmed his suspicion. The idiot human who kept getting him killed, was a girl. Just fucking great. He felt her stiffen and shiver, probably out of disgust. He really hoped the chick didn't scream. The last thing he needed was for the guards to find them. When she turned to look at him and realization crossed her hazel eyes, all he could think was 'Here we go. She's going to scream in 3…2…1…' He wasn't expecting her to study his face. Was that adoration in her eyes? Nah, the goblin had to be seeing things. The redhead whispering his name softly promoted him to make a smart ass remark. "No, it's your mother." He huffed out of annoyance, "You act like you've never seen my fuckin' ass before." He let go of her and rolled his eyes as she steadied herself. "Shit. Don't you humans know how to travel through a portal?

The girl nearly felt flat on her face when he had released her. She was still trying to get her bearings and it didn't help that her legs had turned to jelly being in his arms. His remarks made her straighten up fast, though. Infatuation faded quickly and turned to anger, her flush full force. "In my world, we don't have portals asshole! And what the hell am I doing here anyway?!" She knew he could be an ornery mother fucker, but damn. She also wanted to know why he had brought her here. It was definitely a fantasy of hers, but she doubted that he had seen her face and fell madly in love. That mushy bullshit was for the princess stories and Mary-Sue fanfictions. She nearly threw up at the thought. She really hoped she wasn't caught up in one of those stories because she was not afraid to save herself by any means necessary to escape that horrific hell. She shook the creepy thought out of her head and focused back on him, trying not to get distracted by all the skin showing, especially his bare chest. She purred softly in the back of her throat because fuck he was so handsome. Despite her less than innocent musings, she still managed to go off on him. "Are you fucking insane?! I know your abilities and there should have been no way for you to bring me here! What if I get stuck?!" Not that she would have minded being stuck there as long as it was with him, but that was beside the point. "I swear if I'm stuck here, you're going to pay for it, asswipe."

Styx crossed his arms, amused at her fiery comebacks. He didn't know a female could be so aggressive, they usually were submissive. During her cute little attempt to insult him, his ears perked at the odd noise she made. He'd never heard a human make that sound before. It almost seemed predatory. He assumed it was part of her display to show that she was dominant. He didn't know humans could fall back to baser instincts, but he guessed the ones from her world were different. He had to laugh out loud at that.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?!"

Guess she wasn't deaf after all. "I'm laughing at you. You're acting like an animal. And I brought you here because you keep getting me killed! How the fuck am I supposed to get to the Heart of the Tree if I keep god damn dying?!"

She huffed, if only he knew that it wasn't him who wanted to reach the World Tree. "Me? You're the one who won't fucking use your fingers and grab onto the damn ledge like you're supposed to!" She had jabbed her finger in his chest while saying this, but she wasn't able to push him back much.

Styx grabbed her finger and moved it away, "Listen sweetheart, believe me when I say I know how to use my fingers." He growled, "You-!"

A guard called out, "What was that? I thought I heard something."

He stopped short, "Shit." He peered around to see if any of them had spotted the two during their little spat. Once assured, they hadn't been seen, be turned to her,"We'll finish this later." Before the girl could respond, he grabbed her other hand and shoved her down the hole that lead to his hideout.

The redhead went to scream, but a green hand covered her mouth and an arm snaked around her waist.

Once Styx had her secure in his arms, he dropped his hand, which he almost immediately regretted.

"Hey! Where the hell are we going?!" The girl was pissed. The asshole had shoved her down a god damn hole! She knew the smartest place to go would be his hideout, but knowing his scatter brain, they could have been going anywhere. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his torso, and pulled herself close to him. There was no way in hell she was going to die. The redhead couldn't complain about being in his arms again, though, even if she did want to slit his throat.

"Keep your voice down! We're headed to my hideout." Styx was starting to second guess himself. Bringing her here was probably a stupid decision on his part. He'd have to find a way to fix it when they got back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Styx: The Detour**

 **Chapter 2:**

The hole that the goblin and human had jumped into opened up to the roof of his hideout. The girl closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest. She didn't want to look, because knowing his luck, he would miss catching the ledge and they'd become pancakes.

Styx felt the girl hide her face. Doing this shit in real life instead of behind the safety of a t.v. screen had to make it much scarier for her. With ease, he caught the ledge sticking out in front of him, and hung there for a second. He then hoisted them up onto the platform and moved away from the edge. Sarcastically, he remarked, "You can look now, girl." As soon as she loosened herself from him to check out the surroundings, he dropped her on her ass.

The redhead grunted in surprise. "Dude, seriously?" She was having a shitty day and he wasn't making it any better. She stood up and wiped the dirt off her ass, then glared at him. Then again, being in the game with him was much better than playing it from the outside, if she thought about it.

The goblin was unaffected by her protest. A little payback never hurt. He smirked.

He was smirking, the fucking bastard. The girl was trying to decided whether to hit him or not, because she really wanted to in that moment. She moved towards him, but Styx sidestepped her, heading deeper into the hideout.

The greenskin had forgotten that Ozkan might be around. The old man may have been blind, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't sure if the crook would try to kill the human girl off, or worse, sell her into prostitution.

The redhead followed him. Her intent to finish the argument started to form into curiosity instead. He looked like he was headed to the room in the upper part of the hideout. Realization hit her. He must have been looking for the old man. She knew that the old man was how Styx was able to move on to new missions. She wondered if that's what he was planning on doing. It didn't make much sense though, seeing as what was he going to do with her? He couldn't just leave her in the hideout while he completed missions. "Styx."

Said goblin was climbing the ramp to the door and heard her call his name, but didn't stop.

"Styx!" There was no way he didn't hear her. Those ears were huge enough to pick up shit like a bat.

Styx rolled his eyes and turned around, "What?"

The girl crossed her arms, "What the hell are you doing? You can't just start a mission. I refuse to wait here for you."

"I'm heartbroken. I thought good little girls were supposed to wait for their husbands."

"God damnit, Styx! Even if I was your wife, you can bet your ass I wouldn't stay in this hellhole!"

That made the goblin stop for a minute, what did she just say? Not I would never be with a an ugly ass like you, but if I was… He shook his head and took a step towards her. He was starting to lose his patience, "Listen…whatever your name is, I gatta get to that tree and it ain't ganna happen when you're in control."

"My name is," she said at first with conviction, but then, "uh…" She faltered for a minute, unsure if she should give out her real name. In reality, it probably wouldn't change anything, but at the same time, if she was going to be stuck here, she might as well take on her true persona. Plus, she needed to blend in so that she didn't become targeted. She had knowledge of this world's future, and in the wrong hands it would be devastating.

Styx watched her hesitate, "What? Am I so handsome that you can't even remember your own name?"

The human's head shot up and she growled slightly. That comment had hit a little close to home. Built up frustration caused her to lunge at him. In the real world, she had been taught martial arts, but never really used it.

She caught the goblin off guard. He didn't even have a chance to defend himself before she had grabbed him and flipped him onto the ground. He was locked in a hold and struggled some. Damn, this girl was full of surprises.

Victory was hers and she smirked. There was more to her than met the eye and Styx was going to find that out real quick. She loved his personality, but the banter towards her was starting to aggravate her. She figured putting him in his place would make him back off some.

The smug look died, however, when her opponent flipped them over easily. Styx pinned her arms above her head and used his body weight to keep her in place. Amber eyes searched hers and he leaned in, "You're going back and you're not going to let me die anymore, got it?"

The redhead had to take a second to regain her composure. She hadn't been expecting him to get out of the hold so easily. This also was not how she pictured being underneath him the first time would go. She realized he was speaking to her, but she hadn't been listening. She focused in on what he was saying.

"You listening to me, redhead?" Styx was aggravated by the lack of response. What was with this girl?

She gave him a snarky response back, "You still whining, goblin?" An idea came to her head and she smirked evilly.

Styx nearly jumped out of his skin when the redhead leaned in and bit his ear just hard enough to cause some pain. He leaped off her quickly and started to rub the now sensitive area. "What the fuck?" He felt pain, but other sensations shot straight down. Despite his memory being fogged, he hadn't forgotten that part at least. He growled and dug roughly in his pocket for a pile of sand, "You're going back."

The redhead started to laugh. She couldn't believe that actually worked. Because there were no goblins in the real world, she'd never gotten to test her theory out.

Styx was not amused at all. He glared at her. He didn't have time for this crazy shit.

She got up and narrowed her eyes at him. Spoilsport, the fun was just getting started and he already wanted to send her home, "Fine, whatever. And the name is Shadow, you overgrown twat."

The goblin ignored her as he focused his magic to create a new portal. The lingering sensation from the bite was distracting somewhat, though. He'd never thought about his ears being sensitive in that manner. Fuck. The human girl liked to play dirty, apparently. Despite the influx of hormones, he ignored them and threw the sand into the air. He concentrated on forming the outer ring of the portal first and then the inner red part after. However, unlike last time, he wasn't able to finish it. He couldn't get the barrier to let him through.

Shadow watched from behind. She wanted to know how he was able to get past the restrictions of the game in order to create the first gateway to her world. She was fascinated, as the sand seemed to float in thin air and was easily manipulated under his command. The girl racked her brain, trying to remember a time that he may have been able to use his abilities in such a way, but nothing came. She assumed his attempt had failed when the circle crumbled and the sand fell to the ground in disorganized heap.

Styx cursed and tried again only to have the same result. He had to get the portal open. There was no way Shadow could survive in his world. What little he did know about the real world was that they were far advanced and that social norms were vastly different. Even more bothersome was where he could drop her off at if they were forced to go through with that option. Not only would they have to find a way to sneak out of the tower undetected, he'd also have to find a human town she could make a life in. His memories of the outside of the tower were blurred, some blank. He mulled over the idea of letting her stay with him to save the trouble, but for all he knew, she wouldn't be able to handle life stuck with a criminal either. A voice intervened in his head, almost like a passing thought, "What are you talking about, rakash? You've got a mission to complete and she'll only get in the way. Get rid of her."

Shadow rose an eyebrow. She'd been watching him make various expressions and knew he was fighting an internal battle. She had a feeling she would get stuck because he shouldn't have been able to use his magic in that way in the first place. "Having problems, are we?" Her own emotions were warring within herself as well. Though she liked the idea of staying in this world with him, what repercussions would it have in the real world? Plus, living life with him would be a struggle. They'd have to fight for what they needed and would constantly be on the move. In the real world, she lived a pretty comfortable life and never had to want for anything. She also was on her way to getting her second degree and advancing her career. She sighed, she'd have to think about it and decide. For now, as long as she was stuck, she wanted to stay with him. He was an asshole, but he was the only one that knew about her real life. Plus, in her world, he was just a videogame character. She had access to information he didn't. She knew how this story ended and that's not what she wanted for him.

Styx turned to look at her, "If I can't get the portal open, then I'll take you to one of the human villages outside of the tower to live out the rest of your days." His inner voice was right, he had a job to do and nothing was going to stop him from finishing it.

A village? Was the goblin insane? She'd have to start all over and on top of that, she didn't know anyone else in this world. Where would she stay? How would she eat? Would she be able to find work? She had to convince him to let her stay, at least until he could get his magic to cooperate again. "Why can't I stay with you? You did this. And you know damn well I wouldn't make it in a human town. Our worlds are too different."

"You can't stay here. You'll just hold me back." He was fighting with himself again. He knew she was right, but the little voice in his head was telling him that it didn't matter what happened to her.

"Oh really?" She crossed her arms and cocked a hip out. "I have information you need."

"Like what?" His amber eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Have you forgotten where I came from?" The confused look on the goblin's face made her realize she'd have to spell it out for him. Unfortunately, she didn't know that it wasn't just the two of them listening to their conversation. "I came from the real world. There, you are just the main character in a video game. I purchased said videogame and have played it over and over again. I've beaten it more than once, you just don't remember because this was a new game I started up." His blank face made her sigh in exasperation, "Meaning, I know where the plans are, the coins, everything. I know this place inside and out. I even know the amount of guards on each level and their patterns so you can slip past them undetected."

Styx's eyes opened wide when he finally understood the point she was making. If she knew all that then…the voice spoke in his head again, she knew where the heart was. He grabbed his head with both hands, hissing as a searing pain shot through it. Damn these headaches. It passed and he looked back up at her. She'd have to prove herself because her track record hadn't been so great when she was in control, but if she could help him then who was he to say no?

She smirked at first, knowing that Styx wouldn't be able to refuse such a tantalizing offer. The smirk faltered when she saw him grab his head. On top of not wanting to get stuck alone, she also had ulterior motives. As much as she hated to watch him suffer, she'd have to ignore it for now. She could have told him the truth then and there and moved on, but she decided that it was best to let him find out on his own. Besides, she had a rat to get rid of. The look on her face soured as she thought about the motherfucker doing this. He'd pay, dearly. She met his eyes, "So do I get to stay or not?"

He bared his fangs and reluctantly agreed, "Fine."


	3. Chapter 3

**Styx: The Detour**

 **Chapter 3:**

Loud bangs echoed throughout the hideout as shit went flying everywhere. Shadow cringed at the noise. Like a cat, her ears had always been sensitive. She wasn't sure the racket was necessary, but she did find slight amusement in the goblin's effort to procure armor and a new set of clothing for her. Being more of an introvert, she never really liked to draw attention to herself in general, but wearing her more modern clothing out in this environment would be like holding a neon sign that said, 'Hey! Look at me!' On top of that, a cotton t-shirt and thin capris weren't going to protect her from a steel blade.

After agreeing to let the human stay, Styx realized that she was going to need a change of wardrobe. He needed her alive to get to the heart of the tree. Plus, she was better to look at than that damn old man. When they got back, he'd have to figure out what to do with him. Now that he had Shadow, the blind crook was useless for one and secondly, he didn't need the bastard to sell him out for a few coin. The goblin dug until he hit the bottom of the wooden chest he was scrounging through. If he remembered correctly, he had been saving trinkets, which included armor of past adversaries. He pulled out a pair of dark leather breeches and inspected them. They didn't seem to have any rips or tears. He smelled them next to make sure they didn't reek to high heaven. What could he say? Even he didn't like the idea of smelling like a donkey's ass. Once assured that there were passable, he threw them behind himself in Shadow's general direction. "Try those on." He also pulled out a pair of knee high leather boots and chucked them too.

Shadow huffed in annoyance and glared at the green skin's back. Really? He had to just throw them at her? She walked over to where the pants landed and picked them up, slinging them over her arm. After that, she moved to pick up the boots he had carelessly tossed.

Styx stood and stared at the crap that was lying around everywhere. Being a decent person and cleaning up the mess crossed his mind, but then he thought better of it. The junk caught in his path got roughly kicked out of his way as he moved to one of the closets. He couldn't exactly remember what he had stashed where so it was a guessing game as he went from one container to the next. He was almost positive the closet he had picked had more clothing in it, but was wrong for as soon as he opened the door, a dead body falling out. He had sidestepped to let the carcass hit the stone instead of letting it land on him. The flesh was partially rotted and made his nose cringe. Shit, how long had he left the poor bastard in there? He was racking his brain to remember the reason he had kept it. Nothing came so he just shrugged it off. "Forgot about you." He was contemplating what to do with it when he overheard Shadow gag and speak.

The redhead had been casually watching him, partially out of curiosity, but mostly just studying him. In the real world, she had made a career being a professional artist and he sparked the creativity within her. Lost somewhere within her mind, ideas were flowing and she was itching to get them on paper. Shadow was roughly thrown out of her reverie when she finally registered that something vaguely resembling the remnants of a human had just leisurely fallen out on the ground. She barely managed to withhold a scream, nearly throwing up and turning pale. "Styx! Why the fuck would you leave a dead body in your closet?"

The goblin smirked over his shoulder, "Convenience." The look on her face made him want to laugh.

It wasn't like she had never seen one before. Despite the game promoting mercy instead of needless killing, there were still missions that required it. Even so, she shivered. Deciding it best to let that one go, she walked off in the direction that she remembered a spare room was supposed to be. Once found, she went inside and shut the door. The redhead set the leather pants and boots on the table beside her and removed her capris. She hadn't been wearing shoes when she was at home, but luckily for her, she hadn't had to walk much on the hard stone barefoot. She laid the capris over the chair that was sitting beside the desk. She made note to remember it was here for later when she wanted to doodle some. She grabbed the leather pants off the table and slid them on carefully. There were strings hanging down in the front, so she assumed that she was supposed to tie them together in order to keep the pants up. Once tied, she moved around to test the flexibility of the pants. The last thing she needed was them ripping during a mission, especially in front of Styx. Not that he would mind the view, she was sure, but there were other places and times for such things. She laughed a little. The pants were snug, but not uncomfortable so she decided that they would do for now. She'd have to ransack one of the noble's or guard's quarters later for extra clothes. She sat down in the chair and grabbed each boot one at a time, pulling them up over the legs of her pants and lacing them up tight. She was more used to sandals, but as she stood up and walked around in the boots she realized that they were pretty comfortable too.

Styx managed to find a grey cotton top and some pieces of thicker leather armor. They weren't the best, but they would have to do for now. Metal armor wasn't conducive for sneaking anyway. He hung the chest piece and blouse over his bare shoulder and held the gauntlets and braces in his hands. "Hey, redhead…" He turned around as he spoke only to see that she had disappeared. The goblin rolled his eyes. Where had she gotten off to? He peered around the hideout and noticed that the door was shut to the room he normally left open. He figured she had gone in there for some privacy to change. Styx walked over and knocked on the door before opening it.

Shadow peered up at him, "Find anything else?"

"Yeah." Styx was tempted to drop the clothing at her feet and walk out, but instead laid the stuff down beside her on the table. "Get that on. I'm going to find you a weapon." He walked back out and headed for a specific chest, the one he kept all his most private shit in. He knew just the thing that she could use. It would be light and easy to hide. He flipped open the lid and sifted through the weapons until he found just what he was looking for. "A-hah. Perfect." He slid his fingers across to blade to test the sharpness and wasn't disappointed.

Before she could protest, he had left, supposedly to go dig through more crap. She sighed and slid off her shirt, placing it atop the capris. Looking over at the table she inspected the grey top Styx had brought her. It looked to be about her size. She pulled it on over her head. Not too snug, just loose enough to be comfortable. The V-neck was a little low, but she couldn't be bothered to fix it right now. The girl noticed that everything seemed to have a string or lace-up theme. She guessed that they hadn't invented buttons or zippers just yet. She grabbed the braces off the table and tried to secure them next. She fumbled a little, but felt like she would be able to get it on her own.

Styx grabbed a cloth to wrap the blade up in since it didn't have a sheath, and walked back to the room she was changing in. He didn't bother knocking this time and waltzed right in. He had expected to see her completely suited up, but instead she was struggling to get the braces on. He rolled his eyes and walked over to her. "Here, let me do it." He stabbed the dagger into the wood table and let the cloth fall beside it.

Shadow blushed slightly as Styx grabbed her arm. She hadn't expected him to be so gentle as he repositioned and laced up each brace for her proper. She studied him intently as he did so, not recognizing the expression written across his face.

Styx finished and reached over to grab the chest piece. It was shaped similar to a corset, but was made out of thick materiel. It wasn't completely impenetrable, but it could take quite a hit. He moved her arms out of the way and came in close, almost as if he were going to wrap his arms around her. He reached around and grabbed the other half of the armor, bringing both around her torso in order to lace it up in the front.

Shadow hadn't thought it could get any worse, but it did. She should have stopped him and told him that she could do this part by herself, but she couldn't bring herself to speak up. She honestly liked having him close to her so she stayed quiet. She was glad there was a shirt between her and the tantalizing fingers that were brushing against her as the goblin tied up the front part.

Styx didn't even notice, focused on his task as he was. He was trying to be quick so that they could leave. It was unusual that Ozkan hadn't returned by now, but he counted it as a blessing. He still didn't know what he wanted to do with him. He couldn't risk the redhead getting alone with him because there was no telling what he would do to her. Styx finished and pulled the dagger out of the now damaged wood, tossing it to her. "Let's go. I need to get those plans."


End file.
